They even summoned the Mountain Spirit and searched its soul—it seems they are still after the whereabouts of that Old Taoist Priest and his disciple!
Who exactly is that Old Taoist Priest, that the Yin Evil Sect would come all this way just to find him?
Before his words could finish, a flash of white light appeared, and he vanished, leaving only the Old Turtle Spirit gasping for breath, its belly helplessly turned skyward, its head drooping out of its shell, clearly on the brink of death!
"Squeak..."
After the Flight Light had traveled far away, two huge mountain rats crawled out from the hole beneath the rocks, looking around cautiously for a long time. They ensured that the human cultivator would not return before they began to push the Old Turtle Spirit towards the hole, one in front and one behind...
Not to mention how the rat spirits devised a plan to save the Old Turtle Spirit, let's talk about Gu Shi Yi, who was now unwittingly nearing Xuancheng City. On the main road leading to Xuancheng, there was a hustle and bustle of people coming and going, and as such, their carriage slowed down. On the way, Shiyi bought some homespun fabric from a woman in a small village, spending five copper coins and paying an additional two copper coins to have the carriage redecorated.
Now, from a distance, their carriage looked no different from an ordinary one. Upon closer inspection, one could only admire the substantial materials it was made of, which were exceptionally sturdy. No one would suspect its extraordinary origin.
Gu Shi Yi, driving the carriage, was caught up in the stream of people entering the city, inching forward with frequent stops. Xuancheng was a medium-sized city on the northern border of Yue Country. Located beside a great river, it benefited from convenient water transport and thriving trade. Thus, merchants from various places would stop here to rest and conduct business, resulting in a frequent turnover of people. Dressed in coarse clothing and driving a carriage, Shiyi resembled a small merchant coming to the city to buy goods, attracting no special attention.
Due to the large number of people entering the city, the City Gate Official had to question them one by one. By the time it was Shiyi's turn, half an hour had passed,
"Where are you from?"
As per the rules, the City Gate Official lifted the carriage curtain to inspect while asking. Shiyi replied,
"From Green Mountain Town..."
"Here for what purpose?"
"To purchase some goods..."
"What goods?"
"Well..."
Gu Shi Yi's eyes darted about,
"Officer, I'm a liquor seller. I've heard that the wine from Xuancheng's Wang Family is good, so I wanted to buy some to sell back home..."
The City Gate Official nodded, looked at the official documents Gu Shi Yi handed over,
"Go on in!"
"Thank you, Officer!"
Gu Shi Yi smiled, thanked him with a bow, and drove the carriage into the city. She leisurely navigated the streets, inquiring at every inn, before finally finding one in a secluded area with a cheap rate. Even so, it would cost her fifty copper coins for a night's stay, which made Shiyi wince. After securing the room, she shut the door and immediately began counting her silver in front of Li Yaner and Big Boss,
"Look at this, we've only been out a few days, and already we're down a bar of silver. The road ahead is still long, we need to be more frugal from now on!"
Having a carriage, they wouldn't enter cities anymore; they would spend nights in the wild instead.
Li Yaner asked her,
"Didn't you say ghost catching and demon vanquishing could earn silver? Xuancheng doesn't seem too small, why don't we look for someone in need of ghost catching or demon vanquishing services here?"
In her previous lifetime, Xuancheng was considered a remote and insignificant eighteenth-tier city with only two or three busy commercial streets surrounded by residential areas. It was much larger than the two towns they had come across earlier, with the greatest population density she had seen in this world.
After pondering, Gu Shi Yi shook her head,
"No good, ghost catching can't be done in a place like this..."
"Why not?"
"Although there's plenty of business here, the income isn't necessarily plentiful. Daily expenses are too high, and it's possible that after a few days, our expenditures could exceed our income. We could end up not only failing to earn silver but losing money instead!"
As a Wandering Taoist like her, akin to an itinerant doctor, upper-class households wouldn't look up to or trust them, and average families could not afford their services. Taking on a job might end up not covering even a day's expenses, making it entirely unprofitable.
She explained the math to Li Yaner, who nodded in agreement,
"Shiyi is right, so shall we leave the city tomorrow?"
Gu Shi Yi nodded,
"Right, we'll buy some rations in the city today, and then leave tomorrow!"
Travelling by water through Xuancheng would certainly be faster and steadier, but she had no silver for a boat, and it would be difficult to take on jobs while on board. Still, driving a carriage and stopping in nearby towns to ask rich households and gentry about work seemed like a feasible plan. Wealthy people often had dubious affairs to deal with, and there was bound to be work available!